Warning - French motorway tolls

[apapadop]

Just found this out the hard way... French motorways usually have a booth/gate with a person and a few more booths/gates with automated systems that suck in your credit card and charge the toll there.

The problem is that these systems DO NOT RECOGNIZE MOTORCYCLES! So, if a biker uses the automated system (as I did), you end up paying as a car. I rode from Calais to Reims and paid EUR 20,20 for the first toll, and EUR 17,80 for the second, where I stopped and investigated, which resulted in a refund.

So, don't use the automated credit card system

Beware, we are being robbed!

Alexandros
http://horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex

[idf000]

Funny you should mention that, apapdop, as I've just had the same fun in France, Italy, Turkey, Slovenia, ...

In Turkey, you have OGS, KGS and tickets. OGS is sensor controlled but no obvious barrier, KGS seems to be sensor controlled but does have a barrier and then the usual tickets. Some of the on-ramps are OGS/KGS only so you cannot get a ticket. So, we're on the autoroute with no ticket...after watching the peage section for a while we simply rode through the OGS where we just set the alarms off and carried on! (We rode slowly enough just in case a hidden barrier did come down!)

In Slovenia, they actively direct motorcycles through the OGS equivalent so I didn't pay a penny. What can you do? I was following the directions.

In France I was hit by the CC charge the first time then realised that above all the CC booths is a 2m height restriction and no motorcycles sign and you work out they are directing you through to the autre vehicles (with a long queue and a person). I did end up one time at an unmanned booth in the dark with a soggy ticket which took a few goes to convince to go in the machine.

In Italy I was initially charged the car rate before the person changed his mind!

Cheers,

Ian

[mr moto]

This is the reason i always avoid toll roads. I have my SATNAV set to always avoid toll roads. The smaller back roads are more interesting anyway.

[romeo one]

+1 on the sat nav settings

[Donmanolo]

Originally Posted by idf000

In Italy I was initially charged the car rate before the person changed his mind!

Would you care to tell us a little more about this? In Italy there is no "motorcycle" rate on motorways...

(Oh and while we're on the subject, it may be worth pointing out that there are no tollbooths anymore in Slovenia , unless you drive a truck.......since they introduced their expensive Vignette system a while ago)

[chris gale]

Well to further confuse things alot of toll booths are now unmanned - full stop !! You ride up to the barrier and it appears that it figures you are a bike by weight . I say this as my mate was about to pay 1.60 euro and a car drove up his backside and the price went up by 5 euro !! we made the car back up and then the machine wents tits up and we had to tannoy who ever controls the barrier . To confuse matters further the four of us all stopped behind one another before we figured this out and the machine had a breakdown and said my mates Vfr was a light van ?
Any French viewers care to comment cos it drove us nuts !!!!!!!!!!!

[idf000]

Originally Posted by Giacomo

Would you care to tell us a little more about this? In Italy there is no "motorcycle" rate on motorways...

Sorry, you're right -- it was a bit of a blur of tolls to get from Zagreb to Calais via Nice in two and a half days. Italy was a straightforward EUR40 bill from Trieste to San Remo. It was a nice man in France that switched from EUR13.30 to EUR7.70 after I handed him a EUR20 note. I got more than EUR10 in change at any rate.

(Oh and while we're on the subject, it may be worth pointing out that there are no tollbooths anymore in Slovenia , unless you drive a truck.......since they introduced their expensive Vignette system a while ago)

Well, there's plenty of tollbooths but that certainly explains why they direct cars and motorcycles to the left hand lane where there's no barrier and don't charge you anything.

Cheers,

Ian

[idf000]

Originally Posted by mr moto

This is the reason i always avoid toll roads. I have my SATNAV set to always avoid toll roads. The smaller back roads are more interesting anyway.

I do too but needs must as the devil drives. With snow falling in southern Germany (and therefore on the Alps) I made an executive decision to whip over northern Italy and up through France. 2200km in two and a half days. I guess you could do it on the back roads...

Cheers,

Ian

[Beej]

Originally Posted by idf000

Well, there's plenty of tollbooths but that certainly explains why they direct cars and motorcycles to the left hand lane where there's no barrier and don't charge you anything.

Just to put things straight... we where in Slovenia in July / August time... To go on the motorway with a motorbike you have to buy a vignette from a petrol station before you go on... it cost €7.50 for 7 days.

You do go through booths every now and then but they are just checking that everyone has a vignette by video!

Hope that helps!

Beej

[berin]

Slovenian vignette for motorcycles €7.50 for a week or €25 for six months.